Hometown clean up; Volunteers take pride in sprucing up Lorain County

MORNING JOURNAL/JASON HENRY
Bill Harper, of United Way, and Jim Walborn, of Leadership Lorain County's board, shovel mulch during the group's Day of Caring, done in conjunction with Lorain County Pride Day.

MORNING JOURNAL/JASON HENRY
A newly installed statue of a soldier overlooks the Eric Barnes Walk at Settler's Watch in Lorain. The area was spruced up by about 20 volunteers for Pride Day.

LORAIN -- Hundreds of volunteers across the county took broom, glove and rake to their city's public parks and squares yesterday as part of the annual county Pride Day.

Pride Day asks residents to volunteer their time in order to spruce up the cities in which they live.

The effort was county-wide yesterday but the two biggest pockets of volunteers were in Lorain and Elyria.

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In Lorain, more than 330 volunteers signed up in advance.

"Just about every group showed up," said Derek Feuerstein, Mayor Chase Ritenauer's chief of staff.

The county provided gloves, trash bags and bottled water for guests, while Home Depot and the city of Lorain provided flowers and mulch, respectively, he said.

"It was a great way for people to get out in their community and a great way for people to clean up Lorain and show their pride in the city," he said.

The largest group of volunteers were coordinated by United Way and Leadership Lorain County in South Lorain. Feuerstein said about 100 people participated along Pearl Avenue.

The efforts were stationed at El Centro and expanded down Pearl Avenue to about 36th street. Volunteers watered and planted plants, repainted the lines in El Centro's parking lot, cleaned up debris and added mulch. The volunteers were the first to use Lorain County's Clean and Beautiful, or CAB, trailer, a trailer full of equipment that groups can use for beautification.

At Settler's Watch, more than 20 volunteers tended to the park and walkway dedicated to fallen members of the armed forces from Lorain County.

The parents of fallen airman Eric Barnes, Tom and Shary Barnes, found the turnout to be wonderful.

"We had so much help," Shary Barnes said. "They were all here because they wanted to be here."

The couple said they've seen the park grow every year, with more flowers and more monuments added all the time. A statue of a soldier was added to the park Friday in honor of Armed Forces Day, said Ariel Vazquez, a city worker who tends to the area.

"Lorain is beautiful, we just have to take advantage of what we have here," he said.

More than 400 people tended to 12 sites across Elyria, said Mayor Holly Brinda.

The Downtown area had street sweeping, litter pick up and flower planting, she said. Groups also worked on the Black River, Furnace Street and Middle Avenue, she said.

"There is no better testament to Pride Day," she said. "It was a beautiful day."